Today marks the 2,500th day since we sailed Totem out of Puget Sound; soon we’ll start our eighth year as cruisers. It still feels amazing, and I still pinch myself to make sure it’s not a dream. There are plenty of days that aren’t all sunshine or rainbows (like much of this last passage, which was a wet, boisterous, uncomfortable ride) but never one where I don’t feel grateful that our family can follow this path.

Jamie rounded up a bunch of statistics in honor of cracking this big round number in our cruising journey. Most of them are from a database program he’s been building as a kind of logbook on aquatic steroids, but a lot of this came from laughing and sifting through memories.

Day 2,497: Niall and Siobhan raise the Q flag in Port Victoria, Seychelles

Cultural Stats

Ambon, Indonesia – pepeda (local staple that looks like a bowl of snot)

Phuket, Thailand –crickets, cockroaches, and insects of all kinds

Mmmmm, grubs! As seen in Borneo.

Friendliest people: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Mexico. It’s still fresh, but I think Seychelles will join this list.

Most pleasant people experience: The Indonesian Navy crew that looked after us in Pemangkat, Kalimantan that shamed the harbormaster out of his bribe attempts and delivered us bags of fruit, vegetables, fresh fish- just because.

Most unpleasant people experience: When Jamie was threatened with assault by marina staff members in Telaga Harbor, Malaysia, because we wanted to invite Indian university students out for a ride in our dinghy (a longer story, but there are problems with racism in Malaysia with ethnic Malaysians discriminating against Malaysians of Chinese or Indian descent, and foreigners)

New ways we’ve learned to say hello or thank you:

Hola! (Mexico)

Kaoha (Marquesas)

La ora na (Tahiti)

Talitali fiefia (Tonga)

BULA! (Fiji)

Tankyu Tumas (Vanuatu)

Bonjour! (New Caledonia)

G’day (‘Strayan, mate)

Melalula waiwaisana (Louisiades, Papua New Guinea)

Kali Katui (Budi Budi, Papua New Guinea)

Letu solian! (Ninigo, Papua New Guinea)

Selamat (Indonesia, Malaysia)

Sawadee khaaaaaaa. aaaaa. aa. (Thailand)

Vanaaka (Tricomalee, Sri Lanka)

Assalaamu Alaikum (Maldives)

Bonzour (Seychellois Creole)

Stats That Stay With You

Number of times plugged a 110 volt device into a 220 volt outlet: 1

Number of times mistakenly put water into the diesel tank: 1

Number of times lost glasses while at the top of the mast: 1

Number of times flipped dinghy in a surf beach landing: 1

Number of times a rat fell onto sleeping crew below an open hatch: 1

Number of times we’ve lost our kayak because it wasn’t tied well: 1. maybe 2. (*cough*)

Number of times we under provisioned dark chocolate, wine, cheese, and bacon: please. this is painful.

Number of indelible memories chalked up with friends: countless.

Number of times we wished we weren’t cruising: zero.

If you’re wondering when those Chagos pictures will get posted, you definitely know we appreciate it when you read this on Sailfeed. Thanks!

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Behan Gifford

Behan Gifford graduated from sailing a Sunfish on Lake Huron to racing dinghies at college in Connecticut. Her second date with a cute sailmaker took her on an offshore race aboard a J/35; she threw up, but he married her anyway (she aimed to leeward). A move to Puget Sound resulted in a switch from racing for cruising, and in 2008, she began a nomadic journey on a Stevens 47, Totem. Behan, Jamie, and their three children have since crossed the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans and are currently cruising between the USA and Caribbean. Follow the Totem family here on SAILfeed and at SailingTotem.com